Mr de Groot said the community needed to become extra vigilant to protect its most vulnerable.

“As a community we have to look at it and ask, ‘does the existing law suit?’ ”

The Courier-Mail yesterday revealed more family members were making claims on estates, and were willing to air the family’s private business and secrets to bolster their chances in court.

However, there also have been cases where carers were bequeathed a large piece of an estate.

Barrister and accredited specialist in estate law Caite Brewer said there were various ways to challenge the validity of a will.

The most common was to argue that the testator lacked the capacity at the time they made the will because they had advanced dementia or due to the effect of medication, Ms Brewer said.

It can also be argued that a testator was unduly influenced by someone else to make their will, or they did not know and approve the will’s contents.

In Queensland, a spouse, de facto, child, adult, step children and some financial dependents have a right to make a claim for family provision on an estate.

In 2004, the Law Reform Commission recommended the laws be changed to limit the eligibility of adult children who made claims on their parents’ estate. Children and dependent adult children would still be eligible under the recommendation.